


Tower of cards

by Zoya113



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: F/M, Fluff, paul gets revenge for Emma being a little bastard rat child, play fighting (?)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22505665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoya113/pseuds/Zoya113
Summary: Stupid idea for Paul to think he could build something as delicate as a tower of cards right in front of Emma
Relationships: Emma Perkins/ Paul Matthews
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Tower of cards

**Author's Note:**

> Back to regularly scheduled content this was a very June 2019-esque content for me

Paul shuffled the deck of cards in his hands rhythmically, sizing up what he had made of his card tower so far and working out how to make his next move.   
“Emma, do you like it?” He asked. 

She looked up from her phone for a second to nod. “Yeah, it’s cool bud,” she smiled. 

“I used to make these all the time. I’ve still got it,” he told her as he balanced two cards up against each other. “Look.”

“Yeah, I’m looking, Paul,” she put her phone down for a second, stretching out across the couch to watch his card tower grow. 

She shot him a grin and he returned it with a warning look. “Don’t. I’ve spent like twenty minutes on this.” 

Emma leant in, pretending to examine it.   
She raised one hand up. 

“God, Emma, cut it out,” he leant carefully across the table to bat her hand away. “This is why we don’t have a cat - because we have you, you’re practically the same thing.” 

“I wasn’t going to knock it over, Paul,” she rolled her eyes.

“Emma, I’m serious. Don’t. This is like three packs of cards.” 

“I’m not gonna knock it over!” She repeated, but the gleam in her eyes insisted she wasn’t done trying to cause trouble. 

“I’m serious. Knock it over and you’re sleeping on the couch tonight babe,” Paul cautioned her. 

She held up her hands in defence before tucking them under her chest to prove herself. “I won’t knock it over man, promise.” 

He took his careful eye off her for only a second to set the next two cards down.   
“Stop trying to shake the table, Em,” he growled as she placed her foot on the corner of the table. 

She huffed, rolling back. 

“I’m on level six,” he said, setting down another base level to build up from. 

She leant right in close to look at him through the gaps in the cards with a grin. “Hi.”

“Hi, Emma, don’t come too close. You’ll breathe too hard and blow it down,” he pointed out. 

“Don’t be paranoid, Paul. I won’t knock it down until it’s done,” she promised. 

He shook his head. “No. You’ve lost that right. I’ll pack it up myself,” he stuck out his tongue at her as he continued, laying down the cards with a featherlight touch. 

“You’re no fun sometimes man. Alright, I’ve got some study to do.” She stood up to go collect her books but caught her foot on the table leg and stumbled.

The simple bump was enough to send the cards fluttering down, landing in patches across the table and down onto the floor. 

“Ah, shit!” Emma cursed, leaning against the kitchen bench to lift up her foot. “Fuck, fuck, that fucking hurts!” She hissed. 

Paul slowly stood up from his fallen kingdom without as much as a gasp, looking over to check on Emma. “Emma!” 

“Fuck,” Emma groaned, letting out a bothered shudder. “Ah, don’t worry, I’m okay, I just-shit, I jabbed my toe on the coffee table. It hurts like a bitch but I’m alright,” she murmured like she wasn’t convinced just yet. 

“Emma!” He repeated, blatantly ignoring her grunts to point at his collapsed tower. “You knocked my tower down!” He exclaimed. 

Emma let go of her ankle, leaning up against the kitchen table. “Ah damn, I’m sorry Paul. It was an accident, I tripped.” 

“Yeah, and you knocked my whole tower down!” He threw a hand up in the air to storm across the room at her. 

She let out a panicked yet excited giggle, shielding her face with her arms before deciding it would be better to just run. She grasped onto the side of the table to swing around the corner, bolting through the kitchen but Paul caught her with his long strides, grabbing her under the arms to hoist her up off the floor. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She laughed. 

“Be more careful Emma! My whole tower is gone now!”

“Yes! I’m sorry!” She tried to pry his arm off her chest but he collected her legs with his other arm in an uneven bridal carry. 

“I’ve been working on it all night!” He jostled her and she squealed, gripping onto his shirt as he marched her back over to the table. “Look!”

“I see! I see! Haha, Paul! Put me down!” 

“I warned you to be careful!” He dipped her down so she had to duck her head in to not hit the table, and he pinned her still by looking right into her eyes with his glare because he knew that would make her squirm. 

“Come on dude, I’ll help you rebuild it?” She offered, he could feel how tightly her hands were gripping on to his shirt, a little unnerved by how loosely he was holding her. She fell into his stare, finally locking eyes with him. She did the usual, flirtatious bat of her eyelashes but her smile was still anxiously twisted, wondering whether she was in trouble or not. 

“You can’t flirt your way out of this, Perkins.”

“Really?” She let out a yelp as Paul dropped her down a little closer to the table. She freed one leg from his other hand to straddle around his chest, crossing her legs around his back to cling on.

He shook his head, pursing his lips shut. “You’ve done irreversible damage to our relationship, Emma.” 

“Paul!” She laughed, gripping onto his shoulder with one hand so she could pummel him with her free hand. “Let me down! I’ll help you rebuild it, we can make it better, I swear!”

He grimaced at her, staring down into her beautiful brown eyes that were looking back at him hopefully, only with a hint of real fear in them. He searched them for any sort of real apology. 

“I’m sorry,” she chuckled awkwardly, looking back at the ground as if to ask to be set down.

“You’re not sorry. You’re only sorry you got caught,” he declared. “I’m done with the castle for tonight. I’m going to sleep.” 

“I’m sorry for ruining your castle, babe, will you carry me back to our room?” Her voice was a little higher pitched than usual and Paul knew it was because she frightened he would drop her. She couldn’t tell if she was really in trouble or not.

“You want me to carry you?” He asked.

“My foot hurts, I hit the table really hard,” she bit her lip, her hand stroking his shoulder as she spoke like she was trying to pull the sympathy card.

“Ridiculous.” He let her watch him roll his eyes before he let go, dropping her down onto the couch. He crossed his arms and walked off. 

“Hah, Paul!” She called him back, scrambling to sit upright. “Where are you going?” 

“I told you! If you knocked my tower down you’d have to sleep on the couch!” He shouted back over his shoulder. “I was serious!”

“Paul! Babe!” She cackled. “No you weren’t! Get back here! I pay rent! You can’t kick me out of my own bed!” She argued, raising her voice to see if she could get him to turn around. 

He only bothered to look at her over his shoulder. “Clean up this mess you’ve made and then maybe I’ll consider it.”

“My mess?” Emma exclaimed. “They’re your cards!” 

“Fine, have it your way then. But enjoy sleeping out here,” he shrugged like he could do nothing to change it. 

“Fine, asshole,” she got up to scoop the cards into a pile. “I’ll clean up your mess. But if I get to bed and find that you’re hogging all the blanket I’m gonna ruin every card tower you ever make ever again.” 

Paul snickered at his victory, finally turning around to walk back over. 

“Come to watch me suffer, huh?” Emma put on one of her acting frowns as she placed one pile of cards aside, leaning down to pick them up off the floor. 

As she got back up Paul leaned down to give her a kiss. “Thanks babe, you’re the best.” 

“Oh my god, you sap,” she pushed him away, wiping his kiss off her lips. “You can’t flirt your way out of this, Matthews. The damage you’ve done to our relationship is irreversible.”


End file.
